Homemade Greek Pizza

Ingredients for Greek Pizza

Pizza Crust

For this pizza I used a par-baked purchased pizza crust. There are many popular brands, and I tested this Greek Pizza recipe with several well known brands. You’ll need a 10 ounce thin-style pizza crust. They’re about 11 to 12 inches in diameter. You can also use purchased dough or make your own whole-wheat pizza dough instead.

Tomato Basil Sauce:

Because this is one of those K.I.S.S. recipes, I like to use store-bought tomato sauce. I mean I’m not going to stop you from making homemade Napoli sauce, but I’m telling you I just went ahead and bought a jar of sauce.

I recommend Tomato Basil sauce for the classic neutral flavor. I have been buying Newman’s lately, but there are so many decent jarred sauces on the market. You only need 1/2 cup of the sauce, so you can use the rest to make Stuffed Shells with Spinach. 

Greek Seasoning:

This is an ingredient that I discovered a few years ago. As you may know, I call for Italian Seasoning in a lot of recipes. I use it in Chicken Cacciatore, Minestrone Soup and Crispy Skin Chicken to name a few. I love it mostly because it is like using several spices all at once.

Well, Greek Seasoning is the same deal, only it has a slightly different flavor profile. I love the mint in it! Once you have it, try it in garlic marinade! It’s amazing how much flavor it adds. 

If you don’t have it on hand, you can sub in Italian Seasoning, or 1/2 teaspoon oregano and 1/4 teaspoon dried mint (if you have it.)

Pantry Items: 

Once you try this recipe, you’ll make a mental not to always keep your pantry stocked with these Greek Pizza ingredients. Mark my words! Just cruise down the international isle (or sometimes the pasta isle) and grab yourself a jar of roasted red peppers, canned artichoke hearts in water and a jar of olives. 

Canned Quartered Artichoke Hearts in Water:

I like to use artichoke hearts that are chopped up, but if you’re in a rush, just leave them in quarters. Note that if you cannot find canned artichoke hearts the kind that comes in oil in a jar is also very good, but it will add extra calories from fat.

Frozen Artichoke Hearts:

Some grocery stores also carry frozen artichoke hearts. I don’t find them as useful for this kind of recipe since you won’t need a whole package, and it is hard to break off what you need from the block. 

Black Olives: 

I’ll leave it up to you to decide which black olives to use. For me, I like to buy the pre-pitted kalamata olives because they’re so convenient. If you prefer a more mild black Greek olive, you’ll probably have to pit them yourself. To do so easily, just crush the olive with the side of your chef’s knife then pull out the pit. Chop the olives once or twice.

Though I do love them for their buttery mild flavor, I think California ripe black olives would be a missed opportunity for flavor here so I do not recommend them. 

Mozzarella:

I used part-skim mozzarella for this Greek Pizza because it helps to save a step of grating the cheese. Part skim cheese is lower in fat, so you’ll save on additional fat calories, but know that it will not melt as perfectly as full fat mozzarella would.

Feta Cheese:

I know you’re going to think I’ve lost my mind here, but I call for reduced-fat feta cheese in this Greek Pizza. Normally I am all about using a smaller amount of a full-fat ingredient over a reduced-fat version, because oftentimes they pale in comparison and have a bunch of fillers added in.

Reduced-fat feta doesn’t have fillers, it’s just made with skim milk. And in a recipe like this, you won’t be able to tell the difference. Plus it is half the calories of full-fat feta! That makes a difference for a pizza that can be very high in fat overall. I like the reduced-fat feta on my salads for lunch too, so it’s nice to have it on hand. 

Produce:

The only two produce items are red onion, which I pretty much always have on hand. Just make sure to cut it very thin for this pizza. And the other item is basil. It adds a really nice flavor. I add it on top a the very end to add a fresh burst of basil flavor.

To Use Pizza Dough Instead of Crust

Instead of a 12-inch pizza crust you can use purchased or homemade pizza dough. Here’s how:

1. On a lightly floured surface, roll with a rolling pin or shape, with lightly floured hands, the dough into a 12-inch circle.
2. Transfer the pizza dough to a large piece of parchment paper set on a pizza peel, cutting board or flat cookie sheet, adjusting to make sure it remains evenly in the circle. Create a raised edge around the outside crust by pressing outward with fingers on one hand and at the same time, using the fingers on the other hand pressing inward to create the 1 inch edge.
3. Add the toppings as directed.
4. Bake the pizza on the parchment directly on the oven rack until the edges of the pizza are golden and the cheese is melted, 10 to 12 minutes.